Nigel and Jill Sumner, along with their teenage children Caroline and Simon, moved to Inverness to operate the hotel. Proprietors of two other hotels in the past and having just sold one, the Sumners were originally looking to Florida for retirement when they stumbled upon the property.
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| Nigel & Jill Sumner in 1990 after purchasing The Crown Hotel. photo: The St. Petersburg Times |
Despite the previously reported $1.7 million appraisal of the hotel, the Sumners purchased the property from Epicure for only $1 million.
This time, in an effort to lower overhead costs, cuts were made from the top; General Manager Ian Young and Chef Dennis Malone moved on. Only Assistant Manager Keitha Stoney would remain to help the Sumners run the hotel.
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| The Crown Hotel in the early 1990s when it was sold to the Sumners, a hotelier family from Wales. |
The Sumners would successfully operate the hotel for almost twelve years before once again opting for retirement. In late 2001, they offered the hotel for sale.
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| An evening view of the hotel circa 2000 under the ownership of the Sumners. Photo courtesy of John McCormack |
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